Sport shoe



April 3, 192s. 1,664,728

A. BEHR SPORT SHOE Filed May 13, 1927 ALLEN BEHR INVENTOR Qfl/tn MAMM ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES PAT 1,664,728 EiNT err-ICE.

ALLEN BEHR, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

sronr I Application filed May. 13,

My invention relates'to sport shoes and has aparticular reference to"shoesadapted for playing lawn tennis or similar games. V The object ofmy invention is to provide shoes adapted to exercise astrong grip on thesurface of the tennis court thereby preventing the slippage of theplayers feet.

Ordinary sport or tennis shoes are usually provided with corrugatedsurface which pre- *ents to a certain extent the skidding or slippage ofthe players feet when the latter must suddenly stop or change directionof his running. These corrugations, however, wear out very quickly,leaving a smooth surface at the point of greatest pressure. IVhen soworn out the shoes offer but little resistance to the sliding. But evenwhen new these corrugations, being shallow and with tapering sides,slide rather easily over a smooth surface.

In my shoes I provide a deep slot with square sides running across thewhole width of the shoe and at the point of the greatest pressure, i.e., under the ball of the foot. In order to prevent the collapse of theedges or sides of the slot I fill this slot with a cord of a fibrousmaterial. This fibrous material offers additional friction and supportsthe working edges of the slot. On a clay court it gathers dirt therebyincreasing the friction between the shoe and the ground.

My invention is more fully described in the accompanying specificationanddrawing in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my shoe partly insection,'Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of my shoe, and Fig. 3 is apartial sectional view of a modified construction. I

My shoe 1 comprises a regular sole 2 made of leather or some fibrousmaterial to which a layer of ordinary rubber 3 is cemented. To thislayer is vulcanized a sole at made of a frictional corrugated or socalled crepe rubber or of a similar elastic material. This rubber has arough surface which soon wears out smooth however, and in my shoe I donot depend on this surface for a frictional grip with the ground. Forthis purpose I provide a transverse slot 5 through the full thickness ofthe layer of crepet. This slot does not reach the ends of the sole,leaving bridges 6. A piece of a fibrous cord 7 is placed in the slot 5and is cemented'or vulcanized to the bottom of this slot. The ends ofthe cord 7 are wedged or compressed under the bridge members 6.

in Fig. 3.

of the cord 7 increasing 1ts snon 1927.- smn No. 191,069.

The slot 5 is placed at the point of the greatest pressure or directlyunder the ball of the foot, so. that the full weight of the body istransmitted to the, ground at the point of this slot. These conditionsremain unchanged even when the heel is raised from the ground as shownwith Fig. 1.

In service thecord 7 becomes somewhat flattened as it possesses muchless resiliency than rubber and becomes depressed as shown This leaves aslot with working edges 8. The slot itself has a tendency to gather dirtthereby adding to the frictional I resistance of the shoe at this point.The cord 7 should be preferably made of a loose fibrous material, suchas hemp or jute,

twisted as shown in Fig. 2 so as to impart to it a certain mechanicalstrength. The main object of this cord is to gather sand and dirt,scraped off the ground by the projecting edges of the slot 5, this sandor dirt adding to the frictional resistance of the sole. In order tofacilitate this dirt gathering process the cord 7 is preferably notimpregnated and is retained principally by its ends being wedgedunder'the outer sole as shown in Figs. 1 and, 2. For this purpose alsoit is desirable to provide the slots 5 deeper than the thickness of thecord'5, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to have from the beginning of theservice of the shoes the exposed edges of the slot 5. These exposededges provide a scraping effect on the ground thereby providing anadditional resistance to slipping or sliding of the shoes, and,secondly, scraping off dirt, as described, which then works its-waybetween the fibers frictional resistance. In order to increase thisgripping andscrapiug effect the edges of the slot 5 are made slightlydiverging" as shown in Fig. 3.

A second slot 9 with a second cord 10 may be provided as shown in Figs.1 and 2, adding to the effect of the first slot.

Fig. 3 shows a modification in which instead of a cord 7 a roll ofrubberized cloth 11 is used. Any similar substance may be used as afilling, provided it has less resiliency than rubber and has a tendencyto gather dirt from the ground.- Y

Important advantages of my shoe are that it provides an effectivefrictional resistance, increases dotted lines in r the flexibility ofthe shoe at the point where it has a tendency to bend in service andthat it has a long life the frietional properties of my feature notdecreasing substantially until the sole is completely Worn out I claimasmy invention:

1. In a sport shoe, the combination With an elastic sole of a shoe, saidsole being provided a with elongated slots extending transversely acrosssaid sole bridges at'the ends of said slots, said slots extending undersaid bridges and twisted cords of loose fibrous material placed at thebottom of said slots, the ends of said cords extending under saidbridges to the outer edges of said sole.

2. A sport shoe,the sole of said shoe being provided 'With elongatedslotsof an uniform.

Width extending acrosssaid sole, bridges at the end-sot said slots, theedges of said slots

